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Friday, February 13, 2015

So I based this look off just emoijis! It was a fun idea, I went through the emoijis on my phone and picked these ones for my Valentine’s theme.
Yellow I used was NYC in Lexington Yellow, with Barry M Black Nail art pen and Rimmel Rita Ora in Raw as Night for the red. Not quite as perfect as I wanted but I’m still happy with how they turned out!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Another day, another look! Last year I did an anti-Valentine’s look, where I did a matte and glossy version of the look and so I wanted to do that again this year.
I used OPIYou’re So Vain-illa as the base, then just used my Barry M Nail Art Pen to draw in the letters. The red part on the ring fingers was supposed to look like roses but it looks more like leopard print and I’m ok with that too. Here it is glossy.
Personally I prefer it matte but I’m really happy with how it turned out. Another toned down Valentine’s look which isn’t too in your face!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

I was lucky enough to attend the #LOVEIWOOT event in Manchester on Wednesday night. IWOOT, or I Want One of Those, is a website that specialises in quirky and fun gifts. The event was held in the lovelyPropertea by the Manchester Cathedral (which I am definitely going to go back and visit!)

I went to the event with Rebecca from The Lucky Rainbow and when we arrived we were given a lovely bubbly cocktail and a Selfie Stick! Talk about being spoiled. On the tables surrounding us were loads of different gifts, from big to small, something to suit everyone. The atmosphere was lovely and relaxed and the IWOOT and Propertea people were willing to stop and chat to you.

IWOOT had a competition to picture your top 3 gifts for men and top 3 gifts for women. I had fun looking at all the products and picking out my favourites. I chose these 3 below for my gifts for men (though I based it around what my boyfriend would like).

From left to right: Microwave Popcorn Maker, Tetris Light and Chilli Hamper

For the gifts for her, I picked them based on what I’d like! It was hard to whittle it down to three items as I kinda wanted everything!

From left to right: Gummy Candy Maker, Old School Camera box and mug, Greeting Card Kit

The Selfie Stick was brilliant to have, it was fun seeing people taking selfies all around the room and laughing about it! Rebecca and I were so excited when we got it to work the first time! Also how pleased am I about those heart shaped scones? Thanks Rebecca for letting me use the picture!

I had a great night at the #LOVEIWOOT event and I think I’ll be getting future gifts from there as there is so much to choose from!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

I have several Valentine’s nail looks coming up on the blog, this being the first of them. I’m really excited about them actually! I did most my looks in January as I knew I’d be busy leading up to this time and I’ve wanted to share them since then.

As I said in my Recent Buys from Primark post, I am liking yellow at the moment. Which is surprising as I am not a fan of yellow normally! I picked up this nail polish in Boots for £1 after Christmas, I was delighted as I wanted it when it came out during the summer but never got around to getting it.

The yellow polish is No 7 Gel Shine in Lemon Drop, which was a limited edition for last summer. For the hearts I used Nails Inc in Draycott Terrace which I got as part of a mini set from Sarah for my birthday. I love this combo, I think the yellow makes it different from other Valentine’s looks and it’s a nice bright combo to bring us into spring.

I’ve done other looks for Valentine’s Day, so if you’re interested in seeing those click here.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Phew, January is over! And for normally such a dull month, I managed to do quite a lot of things!

Toured-The Corrie Studio! My brother was up at the weekend so I spent the last day in January on the famous cobbles. I also toured the Greater Manchester Police Museum in the middle of the month with my boyfriend and loved the place. Really recommend a visit.

Watched-Birdman. On the same day as going to the police museum, my boyfriend and I went to see Birdman in the cinema. I liked it, I know he was on the fence about it. I loved how it was shot to look like one continuous shot, I thought it was done really well.

Socialised- A lot! Besides two knit club sessions, my boyfriend and I went to an All You Can Eat Ribs and Wings night inMorley Cheeks with some friends, we also had Sunday lunch together in Oddest. I went to the lovely Rebecca’shouse (not before going to Bon Bon for a hot chocolate) and she cooked me an amazing dinner. Rebecca also took me into Fred Aldous for the first time and I returned a week later with my boyfriend to take photo booth pictures. Before going to the Greater Manchester Police Museum, my boyfriend and I had a brunch in North Star. And On Saturday after the Corrie tour, I met my uncle and aunt in Taps for dinner and a few drinks, before heading to Gas Lamp to meet a cousin and her boyfriend. I’m pretty impressed with what I did in a cold and rainy January!

Listened- To a lot of 90s RnB! I made a playlist, which you can check here, expect a lot of En Vogue, TLC and Destiny’s Child!

Knitted- Quite a bit actually! I think part of the reason my reading numbers are down is because I’ve spent a lot of time knitting. I made two hats, a scarf and a pair of booties. I also started another hat but only finished it last night so you’ll see that in February’s wrap.

Driving- That’s right, driving! For the first time since November 2013. I got put on my boyfriend’s insurance and while I haven’t gone far, I’m so happy to be back behind the wheel!

That’s it really! Let’s see if I can pack in as much stuff in February!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

January was a quiet month reading wise. I spent a lot of my spare time knitting instead of reading, though I’m thinking of listening to audio books while knitting to be more productive! Here are the books I read in January.

January Reads

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

I got this book as an advanced reading copy from Goodreads. Jean Perdu runs a little bookshop on a barge on the Seine. Or a Literary Apothecary as he calls it, diagnosing people’s problems and giving them prescriptions of certain books to cure them. At home he lives a simple life, one where he denies himself any pleasure ever since his love, Manon, left him 2 decades ago. When Jean reads an unopened letter from Manon that was found in an old table, all his anger and disappointment towards turns towards himself as he realises the reason why she left. One day on the barge Jean decides to just up anchor and go down the river to Provence where Manon was originally. The journey is not just a physical journey for Jean though, but an emotional one as he thinks about Manon for the first time in years and also opens up to enjoying things in life. I don’t want to go into too much details here, as I’m going to do a proper post closer to the release date but I really liked this book! I loved how the characters interacted and seeing Jean’s journey was beautiful. Look out for a longer review in a later post.

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Maud is forgetful. She doesn’t remember how much toast she’s eaten today, she keeps finding cups of tea she’s forgotten around the house and her daughter gets angry at her for buying for more cans of foods. She writes herself notes to try and reminds herself of things (but unfortunately sometimes she can’t remember if the note is old or new!). She finds one that says ‘Elizabeth is missing’ and wonders when was the last time she saw her friend Elizabeth. No one seems to believe Maud when she mentions this nor do they want to help so Elizabeth decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate for clues. But the clues just bring back memories to Maud of when her sister Sukey disappeared just after World War II. The book was different to what I expected, mainly because I thought it was going to centre around the mystery surrounding Elizabeth. And while this mystery does come to a conclusion towards the end, the book becomes more about the disappearance of Sukey. I loved how Healey managed to show how Maud’s dementia allows her to remember the past vividly but come back to the present time and be forgetful or start confusing her memories with present time. Maud was a lovely character, I felt so sorry for her as she knew she was forgetful at times and her family got so frustrated with her. I cried at times reading this and really enjoyed this book. If you’re thinking of picking it up, do give it a go.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Yes Please is Amy Poehler’s first book. Looking for major gossip about Tina Fey or SNL? Not in here (not that there’s nothing about these but there’s no spilling the beans). Looking for major gossip about her divorce? Walk on. Not happening in here, it’s clear that it’s still a sensitive subject for Poehler. She manages to talk about her personal life but without being very personal. It’s a mix of childhood memories, behind the scenes look at Poehler’s work, anecdotes about her co-workers and from her co-worker and advice for people reading. This is not written to be a laugh out loud over the top type of memoir and I liked it for that. It’s also different to Fey’s book so there’s no point trying compare them. I enjoyed reading it, I didn’t get bored and while I’m a fan of what I’ve seen of Poehler’s work, I didn’t know anything about her past so I loved finding out about it. The book did make me laugh in places though, Poehler can’t help but inject some of her humour into writing. And oh boy did I cry my eyes out when reading about her trip to Haiti, it was so touching. Definitely worth picking up, especially if you’re at least aware about Poehler and want to learn more about it. I’ve heard the audiobook is great as well as she narrates it and has guests feature too.

January’s Stats

Number of books read- 3

Ratio fiction to non-fiction- 2:1

Male to Female authors- 0:3

Number of eBooks- 2 (The Little Paris Bookshop and Yes PLease)

Number of books borrowed from library- 1 (Elizabeth is Missing)

Fem-tellectual Book Club January Theme ‘Pretty Funny Ladies; A Book by a Female Comedian’-Yes Please byAmy Poehler

Reading Challenge Completed

A book that was originally written in a different language- The Little Paris Bookshop (German originally)

A memoir- Yes Please

A book by a female author- Elizabeth is Missing

And that’s it for January! A quiet month but I’m happy with the books I read. Now to plan for February.